March 31, 2011

Evan Smith is seen here doing pretty much everything the right way. Hopefully he doesn't get lost forever in the Element black hole ala Jake Rupp. Frontside flip stalefish!

This Luan Oliviera character may be someone to watch out for in the future. I have to swallow some pride having said that, having written off all the Flip ams as undifferentiated autonomatrons. That opening switch frontside flip had me saying out loud, "Holy shit, that was good," and I was sitting alone in my kitchen.

March 25, 2011

We're getting knocked around pretty hard lately with Lair edits. The above is from #shitchucksays, and the slightly blurry effort below is from some dude named Dalton Jones. I have a feeling he's too young to understand any Roadhouse jokes. That's that. I promise not to post any more local indoor edits* until next winter. Let's see if I can do that.

March 24, 2011

Could it have actually worked out any better? While I tried to foster false rumors about Nate Compher going off to train in MMA, he went ahead and started making a name for himself in the snowmobile racing world. How apropos? He did a five foot tall switch flip at what I remember to be a 2007 Damn Am contest a couple years ago. Figure in the fact that he had to have traveled at least 10 feet, and that's a gawldarned 50 square foot switch flip. Think about that.

March 22, 2011

We're still good at proffering on other people's edits and stuff, but I don't feel all that bad nowadays since Meyer has been churning out somethings. Wiskate has done a good one once again with the outtakes. I'm optimistic that some day I'll skate as much as those dudes do and look as cool too. It's amazing that Ellis took the washed out bleakness of the GL-1 that was so signatory of Milwaukee, and replaced it with an HD-ness that works extremely well as well. No quibbles here.

March 21, 2011

In case you were wondering, I'm still really glad that I gave up on a career of skateboarding for a living about a decade ago. My decision has been reaffirmed multiple times over the years, and the clip above [skating starts around 0:57 (via Devolve)] cements it even more. Just look how high the bar is set for the footage you produce fuckin' around in a warehouse. Fulton's edit isn't helping either; same goes for this Lakai park edit.

March 20, 2011

March 19, 2011

March 18, 2011

A new poll, less opinion driven and more based on just what happened on the ground. The criteria for more recent videos is that they had an announced premiere, and that they're Twin Cities based, nationally recognized. Older videos that I tried to include outside of my 15 year purview may not have been all that local, or premiered. I did my best to order them by release date, but I already know that I messed that up, and I probably left something out. Let me know, but the poll won't change. Vote with your memory, as proposed by Philmer Phil.

A full 29 percent of voters on the last poll would love to see the downtown Fobia (site updated?!) reinstated. I for one, wouldn't mind having the parking lot back as a "skate spot," AND, I'd also love it if they'd reverse the two way on 1st Avenue so the roadway adjacent to the old shop was still perfect for warm-up games of skate before heading into downtown. The only other sizable voting bloc was behind bringing back The Fed, most likely as it was in '94.

What's interesting about the poll results reiterated above is that the minority-majority (50 out of 170) was all about having a skate friendly meet up/hang out spot over an unskate-stopped, rebuilt spot from the past brought back. Retail memories aside, an interesting question arises.

What makes a good skate scene, like ours in Minneapolis, thrive? Is it the spots, the skaters, the shops, the local companies, the local reps, or due to our geographic location, the indoor spots? There's not an easy answer.

A proposal: In a month or two we should have a panel discussion to discuss and just maybe figure out the answer to the question above. We'll tap into people past and present involved with the scene. We'll drink beers and hash shit out. It'll be a first. If you're into this, say so in the comments, and then convince your friends that they'll be in it too. If you're interested, say so, and it'll happen.

Happy weekend.

Edit: Blew it on a video name. Twice now in fact. Poll re-re-polled.

Also: Word seems to be that The Hut is going out of business. Can anyone confirm or deny?

March 17, 2011

Thrasher has been churning out Double Rock edits at such a fast clip lately that it's both a good and a bad thing; it's a shame that some of the ripping will go unnoticed. I'm posting the one above not only because it features Travis Erickson, of protest-fraught Madison, WI, but because that edit is one of the better of late, albeit so low-key.

March 7, 2011

Late to the game on this because I was busy maxing out the Zorch Meter™ in AZ. The little dude did it, even after tweeting this, and one has to think that CJ was in attendance at that game if you listen closely.

Skating ultra steep banks is like trying techish manual tricks for us mere mortals. Low return in tricks made, but every once in a while you roll away, and then it's worth it. I was going for the high risk low return thing, but...CBI has the Beryl Banks on display; it'd be interesting to ask Rick Howard how that thing stacks up to our own Steep Bank of Doom. Hey Fink, how's that doc coming around?

March 2, 2011

All my shit talking against The Hesh must abate because they came through hard with the video above. I've even got tricks in there that I don't remember filming, and it's always good to get a dose of Whodi.

Was Theotis' mom at his birthday party with strippers? I won't even ask the question, that's just weird. Awesome skating, and even though I'm cool with whatever party foote is in the clip embedded above, grainy shit of dudes mostly laughing at each other in the linked clip is really boring. They used Ignition (Remix) for the song and that's tight, but I'm claiming 411 Status, and thus that song can be used again.

For those who care, I've once again taken to updating my photo blog The Plat Lite with stuff, so if you're bored or randomly obsessed with me, there's the ticket.

Hardflip has a "hard" date set for it's re-launch. I for one, am eager to see the new incarnation.

Devolve is a new blog by GG and the Fun Boys, that has been enthusiastically updated every day since its inception about a month ago. I told Torp that if they keep up such a level of hype for about a year, that they'll have something going.